South Africa: Mandela remains critical

By The Associated Press
| 3:10 a.m.July 13, 2013

Members of the Toronto Children's Chorus choral group from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who are on a tour taking part in the Ihlombe South African Choral Festival, hug each other as they observe some of the get-well messages and flowers, after singing outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa Saturday, July 13, 2013. Nelson Mandela is responding to treatment and the 94-year-old's condition remains critical bu
— AP

Members of the Toronto Children's Chorus choral group from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who are on a tour taking part in the Ihlombe South African Choral Festival, hug each other as they observe some of the get-well messages and flowers, after singing outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa Saturday, July 13, 2013. Nelson Mandela is responding to treatment and the 94-year-old's condition remains critical bu
/ AP

Members of the Toronto Children's Chorus choral group from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who are on a tour taking part in the Ihlombe South African Choral Festival, hug each other as they observe some of the get-well messages and flowers, after singing outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa Saturday, July 13, 2013. Nelson Mandela is responding to treatment and the 94-year-old's condition remains critical bu— AP

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Members of the Toronto Children's Chorus choral group from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who are on a tour taking part in the Ihlombe South African Choral Festival, hug each other as they observe some of the get-well messages and flowers, after singing outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa Saturday, July 13, 2013. Nelson Mandela is responding to treatment and the 94-year-old's condition remains critical bu
/ AP

JOHANNESBURG 
Nelson Mandela remains in a South African hospital, where he is in critical but stable condition.

Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, said Friday that she is less anxious because the 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader and former South African president is responding to treatment.

Mandela was admitted June 8 to the hospital for a recurring lung infection.

People in South Africa and around the world have expressed concern for Mandela, sending messages of support for a man seen as a global symbol of reconciliation. Mandela turns 95 on July 18, when commemorations will be held in his honor.

Mandela spent 27 years in prison during white rule and was released in 1990. He led the shift from apartheid to democracy and became president in all-race elections in 1994.